Bishop Innokenty of Ussuri, a vicar of the Vladivostok diocese, visited the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea from October 9 through 16 at the invitation of the DPRK Orthodox Committee and the Orthodox parish in Pyongyang. The visit was timed to the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and the DPRK.

On 15 October 2013, an exhibition “The ‘Measured Icon’: Its History and Its Present”, organized by the Russian Club of Orthodox Maecenases, was presented at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi. Opening the exhibition was His Holiness and Beatitude Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia. Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), a DECR staff member, took part in the event with the blessing of Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk.

On 14 October 2013, the Georgian Orthodox Church celebrated the feast of Mtskhetoba-Svetitsokhoveli dedicated to the great shrines of the Life-Creating Pillar and the Chiton of the Lord, which was brought to Georgia in the 1st century. The feast is celebrated in Mtskheta, the ancient capital and spiritual centre of Georgia, where the shrines are kept.

The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America held its fourth annual meeting September 17-19, 2013 in Schaumburg, IL. Forty-three hierarchs representing 11 jurisdictions were in attendance.

At the conclusion of the meeting the Assembly released three official statements to the faithful: on the Church’s unchanging view of marriage; expressing grave concern over escalating violence in the Middle East; and a message on the conclusion of the fourth Assembly.

At the solemn assembly held in Niš, Serbia, in honour of the 1700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia presented His Holiness Patriarch Irinej of Serbia with the digitized copies of the archive materials of the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church for the period between the two world wars.